Scouting: A Breakdown

“The market is too complicated.” These five words sum up what every manager running a club with a lot of aspirations feels. It is not because of the players but it is because of the kind of transactions that have been happening in the football world recently. One deal can set a precedent for all the deals that are happening for that profile. There are a lot of clubs with huge financial backing, and they are all behind similar profiles. This drives the price for a player way more than his ability sometimes. It finally becomes a situation of ‘Who blinks first.’ The selling clubs always want to get the maximum money for the player and the buying club wants the most economic package. The football world is no stranger to Deal hijacks. A deal is not safe until the player signs his contract.

In these complicated market situations, the bigger clubs have found a way to sustain and compete, and the most popular one of them is spending huge on talent. But do they find these talents or give them their first chance on a huge platform? The answer is no. Most of the big clubs only keep an eye on players performing in established leagues. It is the smaller and the lesser-known clubs who have understood the process of scouting and making significant profits.

One of the clubs which has shown the football world the importance of scouting is the Premier League club, Brighton and Hove Albion. Brighton scouts have reached the grassroots levels of football to scout the best talent. They have established an outstanding scouting network not only concentrated on the European Football leagues but also leagues in South America, MLS, and the Japanese leagues.

CASE STUDIES (BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION)

Brighton has hired talents from the smallest and least-known league of this world including the Ecuadorian Serie A. On February 1st,2021 Brighton signed Moises Caicedo from Independiente del Valle for an undisclosed fee. Caicedo was an academy product of the club and came from an extremely poor background. Caicedo made his debut for Brighton in an EFL cup tie where he set up a goal for Andi Zequiri. Under then Brighton manager Graham Potter’s coaching, Caicedo showed potential to turn into one of the most technically sound No.6 in the Premier League. On the transfer deadline day of Summer 2021, Caicedo was sent on loan to the Belgian club,Beerschot. The loan system is often used by clubs to give potential talents some crucial game time which they may not get at their parent club. Caicedo was supposed to remain at the Belgian club for the season but was recalled to Brighton due to lack of midfielders. He scored his first goal for Brighton in a 4-0 win against Manchester United. Caicedo began to establish himself as one of the first names on the Brighton team sheet. He also gathered interest from big clubs like Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal. Many expected that Caicedo was excelling because of Graham Potter’s secure system but he proved the doubters wrong when he showed an altogether new skill set in new Brighton coach Robert De Zerbi attacking 4-3-3 system. It is never easy for a defensive midfielder to change from a defensive system which requires way less passing than an attacking system which he is now in.He established himself as one of the best young defensive midfielders in the league. Chelsea made a reported 55-million-pound bid for Caicedo which was rejected by Brighton as they did not want to sell him. Brighton also had to fight Arsenal’s interest in the midfielder. The Gunners bid as high as 70 million pounds including add-ons to secure the midfielder’s signature, but Brighton retained the midfielder. Caicedo is a fruit of Brighton’s great scouting network closely monitored by Club owner Tony Bloom.

Another fruit of Brighton’s exciting scouting system is Kaoru Mitoma. A popular figure in the university football circuit of Japan, Mitoma agreed his first professional contract with Kawasaki Frontale. He soon reached a double-digit goal tally for the club and attracted interest from Brighton. He joined Brighton on 10th August 2021 and was loaned to Union SG, scoring 7 goals in 27 appearances. Mitoma had to wait for a year until he made his Premier League debut for Brighton on 13th August 2022. Mitoma has hit the top gear recently for Brighton with his flurry of goals against Arsenal and Liverpool. He has settled well into Brighton’s attacking style of play, which emphasizes the winger’s on and off the ball movement and dribbling. He is expected to become central to Brighton’s attack following the transfer of Leandro Trossard to Arsenal. He is a popular figure among Brighton fans and many football enthusiasts worldwide. Mitoma has authored a thesis in university on dribbling and has put into practice a lot of things that he learned from it.He has the ingredients to become one of the best wingers in the Premier League.

Brighton’s scouting is mostly driven by data sciences. They use data to focus their scouting. They try to match the player’s data with the data of the kind of profile they are looking for in the market. The process of using data analysis in scouting is heavily inspired by Tony Bloom’s experience in the sports betting industry. Players are judged on goals, tackles, and interceptions. Brighton operates with various targets in mind. If one fails, they have the second in mind already. They follow players from various leagues and academies and hire extraordinary talent for little to no fee. They develop these players through loans and training experience. Then they are given the chance to display their skills with the Brighton First Team, where they attract the interest of several other clubs. If seen as feasible and profitable by the club, they are sold for an extremely high price. This kind of development line has been followed by defenders Marc Cucurella and Ben White. They both transferred to Chelsea and Arsenal respectively and earned Brighton a combined fee of more than 100 million Pounds.

What can the Big Clubs learn from Brighton?

• Importance of analyzing the simplest to the most complex player statistics.

• Tracing the perfect development path for the player.

• Using the loan system to great advantage.

• The art of slow but steady integration of talent in the first team.

• Ruthlessness in negotiation

Football is a sport of the masses, and the best talent will not burst into existence suddenly. It must be found at the grassroots and given the opportunity to develop. If this philosophy is properly followed, we might not see the sky-high prices and the influence of money on the beautiful sport. It will remain a simple but beautiful sport. Unfortunately, that is not the reality as money continues to influence the game, but the truth will always be that” Talent cannot be bought, it must be developed.”